


I'm right here, Thank you very much

by Jeageractive



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon verse, M/M, ahh you'll see, because technically no one's dead, lighthearted with a bit of angst, need a break from my sad fics, not your typical ghost fic, this is just ridiculous shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-01-21 14:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1554464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeageractive/pseuds/Jeageractive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Eren emerges from his titan and doesn't wake up for a month, he's assumed dead and buried.<br/>Levi sort of loses his shit when he finds Eren's grave empty the day after his burial, and Eren has no fucking idea why he just suddenly turned invisible to everyone.</p><p>(or to put it simply; where the Survey Corps don't have a clue that Eren is sort of hibernating, Hanji decides to run off with his body due to personal theories and said clueless boy comes to terms with the fact that he's a ghost)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE TOO MUCH ONGOING FICS ARGHHHH  
> also too many ideas, and not enough time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update : some minor editing,that's all.

Alright, he'll admit, he wasn't the brightest, but who the fuck could understand  _this_?

 _This_ as in, staring at your own lifeless body while your best friends and comrades clustered around your bed to say some final goodbyes before the burial. You're very own burial.

Eren tried to be angry about it, screamed at Mikasa and told her to stop looking so devoid of hope, grabbed Armin's shoulders and told him to stop bawling like a wimp, when in all honestly he was the one petrified almost as bad as the time he mixed the white laundry with the colored and stained the Corporal's shirt. Almost, though.

The thing is, no one heard him, saw him, or acknowledged his presence in the room, as ironic as that sounds since the occupant of the bed is the source of attention and himself.

"Are you fucking serious right now? I'm standing right here!" He yelled at everyone, again with no response."What is happening, oh my  _god_." He groaned into his hands, and at that moment the Corporal decided to walk in. The brunet inhaled sharply before running to him."You see me, right? Oh god, please no..."He grumbled, nose scrunching up when his fingers went right through the smaller's shoulders in a way that disturbed him greatly.

"You kids done? We're taking him."Levi said this as if he was reporting the weather, and a dark aura hung around Mikasa upon hearing this. Eren understood where she was coming from, but still couldn't justify her actions when she strode over to her superior decisively and grabbed him by the collar. The 104th went silent at this, and Eren stared at her incredulously. 

Surprisingly, Levi only lifted a questioning eyebrow at her.

"You have no right to do this." She hissed between gritted teeth, to which the Corporal scoffed.

"Proclaim Eren dead? Because Eren is dead, Ackerman."He calmly removed her grip and fixed his cravat, proceeding in no further reprimanding, probably out of consideration. His tone was harshly nonchalant, but his words the most realistic, Eren thought as he took another glance at the motionless figure in the bed and swallowed thickly.

Levi turned to leave, but paused to add,"You should be grateful to have his body intact, if anything. There's no such thing as a cemetery in Trost, only mass graves." He left wordlessly after that, and Mikasa stood still with unidentified emotions.

* * *

Eren wasn't sure if he should feel loved or frantic, because everyone he knew well enough in the Survey Corps came along to the burial. But he was also being buried.

He mulled over his situation along the trip to the memorial site (Which he spent with his knees drawn up to his chest on the edge of the Corporal's horse because the man barely took up any space), and concluded that this is what must really happen after death, and that he would disappear maybe when buried because whoever was up there couldn't possibly be cruel enough to let dead souls wander and watch people live. Hopefully.

"Why can't I see the ocean first? Is that too much to ask for, huh?" He hollered furiously at no one in particular, gaining not so much as an echo in return but only the ignorant clopping of hooves. He thought he saw the Corporal subtly run a hand over his ear but dismissed it as coincidence and sulkily glared ahead with his chin on his arms.

Soon they entered the gates to a lush, green stretch of fields with small specs of what their loved ones could produce in memory to create their own haven, mostly of different types of flowers and identification slates over graves for casualties per expedition.

The reality of the situation hit Eren then, and he made a barely audible grunt at the lurch of his stomach. He lost himself a little and reached out to hold Levi's cloak and grab his attention, but then remembered and his fingers slipped right through the emblem of wings.

No matter how much he protested, willed himself back into his body and reasoned with the commander, no one relented and the burial went without a hitch. 

Soon they left, and Eren wanted to go back with them so badly but that hope at the back of his mind that told him he might benefit from staying near his body made him stay, watching as they're cloaks fluttered in the distance and willing himself to hold back his tears.

It wasn't cold, or rather; he probably just couldn't feel it, but he curled around himself anyway and sat by the slate identifying his grave, eyes gazing into the distance expectantly, but expectant of what, he didn't know. A miracle, maybe.

The sun was setting right in front of him, the sky streaked with breathtaking colors, but for once he couldn't see anything other than the downcast of the situation, which currently was the upcoming night after dusk. His heart leapt in his throat, though, after watching a figure for a while and realizing that they were making a beeline straight for where he was, and he jumped to his feet. The source of light made the figure a mere shadow even as they got closer, until finally they were close enough to be identified. 

"Hanji!" Eren squealed excitedly, hyping down when he figured she would blissfully ignore him, and also upon the realization that she was the only one missing from his burial ceremony. He watched as she threw innocent glances around at the now almost empty fields, before grinning with that vibe that foreshadowed something really, really bad, and Eren panicked when he realized that also he wouldn't be able to stop her if she decided to execute said terrible idea.

Being satisfied with a safe environment, she extracted something from underneath her cloak and that's when Eren started putting two and two together. The thing that astonished him the most was how she was able hide a fucking shovel and this hammer-like digging tool he didn't know the name of underneath her cloak.

But, most importantly, she grooved the shovel into the soil covering Eren's grave, pressed on it with the heel of her boot, and threw the attained soil to where Eren was standing (which caused particles to drift through him, painless but still with a strange and disturbing sensation), and that's when he figured she was digging him back up.

"No, no, no, what the fuck are you doing?! Hanji-san!" Eren exclaimed, but to no avail, as she continued to quickly remove the soil bit by bit, rarely needing to use the hammer thingy but still doing so occasionally, until she stuck her hands into the caved in soil and simpering with a look of achievement. Next thing Eren knew, she was heaving his tightly bundled body out of the soil and carelessly throwing it to the side, and Eren squeaked out protests in horror and perturbation. The older worked wordlessly and swiftly in order to fill the gap as it was getting darker, adding more soil to fill the vacancy left by Eren's body (or lack thereof). After patting the top down with the shovel and attaching her tools to where they previously were, she threw Eren's corpse over her shoulder and pattered down the field.

"Christ, what are you  _doing-_ " Eren gasped, watching her run a small distance before quickly following her with no other choice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren stalks his favorite shorty.

He really appreciated the fact that no matter how much he ran, his legs didn't feel a twinge of pain and his breathing was perfectly steady. But there's always a sacrifice to something spectacularly good, and that was the fact no matter how much he ran after Hanji's horse, he wouldn't be able to change anything. He followed her through the stables, through the yard and into HQ, profanities at the tip of his tongue growing more useless by the second. She made her way to the basement, passed the cells and into a hallway Eren never has been into before, quickly sliding a door at the end of it open and then shut. Eren prepared himself to slip through it, sprinted head first at it, but sat still on his bottom with a slackened jaw when he bounced off of it a foot away.  _How?_

What the fuck does he do now? He was getting more agitated by the moment, thinking so much that his thoughts didn't make sense anymore as he wandered around the empty hallways of the castle, then debating the appropriateness of a certain thought. It would be kind of messed up if he just slipped into someone's room and sat there and watched things he probably wasn't supposed to, especially the female's wing, since his first exile would be Mikasa.  So he curled up in a corner by the stares separating the higher upper's head quarters from the trainees, conflicted between the lonesome isolation and the morality of haunting a friend.

His nonexistent skin bristled at the barely audible sound of footsteps coming from the pitch black bottom of the stairs, and although knowing he wasn't in any danger and was perfectly hidden, he still broke into a cold sweat in anticipation of the unexpected. They were too collected to be Hanji's, too light to be either Mike or the Commander's and Eren had no doubt that they were the Corporal's after listening for a few moments. Not long after, the sound grew louder in the quiet of the night, soon the illumination of a candle casting on Levi's figure as he ascended the stairs. Eren watched, noting he held a cup of tea in his other hand, as he walked passed him with a straight face and as he walked ahead. Levi was the most straight forward and down to earth person Eren ever knew, and something told him that he couldn't be a person doing awkward and personal things when no one was looking, right? 

So it would be safe to follow him. Maybe.

Before he could second guess himself, he quickly pushed himself off of the ground and fell in step with the sound of the Corporal's boots. As much as he willed himself not to, he couldn't bare the thought of staying alone like this through the night in addition of all that's happened in this day. He'd go insane.

He swallowed his guilt when they reached Levi's headquarter's, who he'd only been to once or twice before, and followed him inside. The first thing the raven did was place the cup and candle down, remove his jacket and sling it over the back of his chair then seat himself down behind the desk. Eren looked around in search of another chair, even though he could sit anywhere( in all honesty, he didn't even need to sit, but was sort doing it based on instinct), and when he didn't, he decided to take a seat on the edge of the Coproral's bed.

He watched silently for a while as Levi worked, stiffer in stance than usual, jaw set and brow furrowed a little as his hands worked through papers with remarkable speed that he seemed to be accustomed to. Eren would tilt his head every time he took a sip of his tea, holding the cup in that peculiar manner and looking so strangely less harmless with such a simple motion. But Eren knew better.

"I really shouldn't be doing this, should I?" The brunet whispered, throwing his back and moaning tiredly. He inclined his head back down, eyes darting over Levi's visage before deciding to talk to him for a lack of a better thing to do. Not like he hadn't talked to the walls in the confinement of his prison cell before."I'm really confused, sir. It would've really helped if you could give me some advice right now."

Scratch, scratch, pause, scratch. Maybe he should take advantage of this for now. There were always things he wanted to say out loud but couldn't, and there was never a better chance."And a fuck you to you too." He murmured, bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

A thin eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, then Levi sighed, set his pen down and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. Oblivious as ever. He giggled, because gosh, could he vent a lot this way. He got up from his perch on the bed and walked to Levi desk, rocking on his heels as he stood right in front of him. He wondered what he could do next.

His eye had a second to catch a glimpse of the small container of ink as it was accidentally knocked off of the desk by Levi's hand, his stomach went rigid and he instinctively opened his palm a centimeter away from the ground as it fell.It hit his hand right side up with a plop, and he stared with a slackened jaw because- because that wasn't supposed to happen.

Some sense came into his mind and he instantly released the container to where it hit the ground, overturned and spilled. Levi got up from his chair, leaned over the desk and regarded the mess with an annoyed, throaty hum. He cleaned it right away, while Eren stood still and thought. What came to him immediately was his method of transformation. Set a motive, focus on it, and then injure. Could this be the same? Because all he thought of when he had reached out was to avoid it's invetiable collision. If that was that, then he could do so much more.

* * *

 

Eren woke up, alarmed, because he didn't remember falling asleep. He peaked one eye open and it darted around at his surroundings, and his heart raced with a bursting hope when he saw the sun's rays filtering through a small window. Maybe it was all just a dream. He lifted his head up and furrowed his eyebrows when he found himself practically breathing onto the Corporal's neck, arms tightly wound around his waist.He jumped up and back, stared at the man's back with startled eyes, then tentatively reached a hand and touched his back, and sighed when it went right through.

He pulled his hand out with a frustrated growl, and sat impatiently waiting for him to get up. When he did, he had to physically restrain himself from hugging the air out of him, because with his current desire to do so it's most likely to turn solid. Levi's hair was disheveled as he lifted himself up, sticking up in cowlicks that added to an adorable kid affect. His huge white night shirt was riding a little too low on one of his shoulders, exposing pale flesh and a delicately curved collar bone, marred with small and almost unnoticeable scratch-like scars here and there.

"Fuck..."Eren breathed."So this is how humanity's strongest looks like in the morning."

The raven stared at the foot of his bed and blinked several times, probably to get the sleep out of his eyes before throwing his blanket aside in one swift motion and jumping out of bed. When he came back from his washing basin and threw his shirt off without warning, Eren took this cue and instantly swiveled around, blushing a little at the urge to peek back again but willing himself to control.

Almost to himself and softly, he mumbled."By the way, Hanji sort of decided to dig me up last night and throw my dead body somewhere in the basement. It would help a lot if you knew, but." He huffed defeatedly.

There was a pause in the sound of shuffling and ruffling of clothes, but Eren just added it to his coincidence stimuli to what he says list. Almost a moment later, Levi stormed out of his room with a weird mood change, and Eren blinked at the door for a second before doing what he did best; following.

* * *

 

Levi stood at his grave with an unreadable expression, a little stern but other than that revealing nothing more. Eren stood watching beside him, mind running through any possibly subtle way of conveying his message to the Corporal. But that wasn't neccassary, it seemed, because Levi soon had lifted his boot and was scraping against the distinguishable patch of soil with a contemplative expression.

He wriggled his foot until it was almost deep enough to cover his ankle, before kicking down several times. The brunet gazed awestruck at the motion, at Levi's persistence and up until the soils began covering his thigh. He then scowled darkly, abruptly jerking his leg out of the soil and uselessly dusting at it. "Hanji." He uttered confidently, and Eren almost screamed happily.

"You're fucking amazing, and this is exactly why."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> U guys guessed right.

To Eren's absolute annoyance, Levi did nothing about it for almost the entire day. He carried on with his typical routine no matter how much Eren screamed at him (Of course) in a way he most definitely wouldn't be able to if Levi was aware, pestered him and dropped the second ink container. But that man was made out of fucking steel and thought more ambiguously than even Erwin Smith.

Come dinner, though, and he finally makes a move. Eren was sitting in his own empty chair, watching his comrades with a stinging longing and a selfish feeling of betrayal, that they could go about it so naturally without a hitch. He almost drew his thoughts back when Petra breathed a long sigh and stared at her plate distantly.

"It's strange without Eren, isn't it?"

Auruo's brow creased unpleasantly, and the youngest was surprised when his expression eased to something like a twinge of sadness."He was a shitty brat, yes. But still didn't deserve such a tragic end."

"Indeed." There was a small silence as everyone turned their head in the Corporal's direction. He set his cup down, propped his chin in his hand and returned his gaze to Hanji, two seats to his right."What do you think of his absence? You always had a soft spot for the brat."

Eren grinned when Hanji nearly choked on her water, waving Petra off with a smile when she reached out worriedly.

"Terrible, I say." She sputtered a small cough into a fist before putting her interlaced hands on the table."What a waste of great experimentation and possibly crucial information to humanity."

"Oh?" Maybe Eren was the only one who noticed the underlying hint of mockery in the raven's voice."Don't you think the information you currently have is adequate?"

"Well, you know, that can't be determined unless the information we have can serve a way of defeating the titans." Point made. She took the small pause as Levi had a sip of his tea as advantage to excuse herself, and was practically skipping out of the mess hall.

Levi almost immediately followed, in a manner in no way unusual, then silently paced himself to where Hanji was strolling down the end of the hall.

Eren winced when the woman was swiveled around by a shoulder and shoved gruffly against the wall, creeping behind them with no real necessity to be stealthy.

"Where's Eren?" Levi asked in a leveled voice that made the question even more ominous.

"Levi! You're hurting me, what's wrong with you?" Hanji stuttered, eyes giving away her bewilderment.

" _Hanji_. You answer my question and hurting you won't be necessary."

Said brunet eyed him with a skeptical glint, before sighing in a resigned manner."Just- let me show you."

* * *

 "Do you understand what you're fucking saying?" Levi warned, eyes narrowed but still never leaving the unmoving figure on the cot."If you're wrong and mislead anyone into something this important, you're life will be on the line."

Hanji wearily ran a hand over her face, weight leaned onto one leg."Levi, I swear on Sawney and Bean that I'm absolutely confident of this. He's not  _decaying_ and doesn't show any signs of doing so in the near future."

When Levi still doubtfully glared at her, she uselessly motioned with her hands in the air before huffing out a breath."Just- touch his cheek and see for yourself. His temperature is frighteningly as regular as any other functioning human being." 

The thought disturbed him, but the Corporal did so anyway, laying the back of his hand flat against a tan cheek and thoughtfully glancing ahead for a moment. He then moved his hand and held it right under Eren's nose, before bringing it back to his side."That doesn't mean anything. He's not breathing."

Hanji held up a hand in a motion telling him to give her a moment before she removed her glasses and folded them against her breast pocket, Levi scowling in annoyance when she grinned maniacally."But. He responds to chest compressions brilliantly. As in, in that small moment his heart faintly beats. I don't know what state he's in, but I can assure you he's anything but dead. Or partially, anyway."

Eren watched and listened to this intently, willing himself not to get too excited just yet. His eyes were trained on the Corporal's tight, thoughtful expression, waiting for any cue of believing, because if he did then it was credible. To Eren, at least.

"Will you let me continue experimenting?" Hanji pleaded, grabbing Levi's shoulders and gazing at him hopefully.

"Only on his undead state shit, do you understand? Anything else, Hanji, and you will regret ever being born. Also, I must stay informed and updated of the slightest change."He shoved her hands away.

She threw her head back, dropped to her knees and punched her arms in the air with an excited shout. Levi instantly maneuvered around her and made his way to the door, and before he could leave she yelled way too loudly,"You can count on me to bring our dear little titan back!"

"Shut the fuck up, we agreed this would be confidential." Levi exclaimed between gritted teeth. And more to himself as he walked away,"Seventeen meters is fucking huge, you idiot."

"Just imagine if his height was proportionate to his-"

" _No_."

Eren took a moment to remain crumbled on the floor with his face in his hands. A deep, completely foreign laugh echoed off of the walls, making him blink blankly ahead for a minute. Then, upon the realization that it was  _Levi_ laughing, his stomach did weird flips and churns.

Hanji laughed along, and the noises resonating in the basement sounded like they came straight out of a childhood nightmare. Eren decided with a swallow that he never wanted to hear them laugh together ever again, waiting until Levi's cackle died down to small snickers before padding after him.

* * *

 Eren did the same thing he did the night before, this time with a little less guilt and a stronger sense of loneliness, because it didn't matter if he could be with Levi for ages if the other didn't even know he was there. This was even worse, actually.

He was laying on his back on Levi's bed this time, listening to the vague sound of rustling paper and the scratch of a pen on it, the event from earlier running through his head back and forth. He sighed, mumbling a thoughtless,"I don't know why I was expecting you to care, really, but it still hurts to see you this immune to my death. Or whatever it is."

The same wordless emptiness followed, and Eren shut his eyes softly."I need to stop expecting so much, don't I? It won't matter in the end what I want, after all."

This time there was a tired sigh, and when the brunet gazed to the side lazily, saw Levi staring back at his current perch and nearly jumped. And it wasn't just a mindless glance, it was pointed, fixed and meaningful. Eren stared back with bated breath and willed his breathing to settle down.

 _holy shit fuck no shitshitshit he can't possibly_ -

"You're so problematic, even when dead." Leveled and straight forward as usual was his tone as he glanced back down at his work."At least control yourself and have the courtesy to respect me during your prolonged stay here, Eren."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the other note seems to be stuck throughout this fic. Might as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> Shitty totally not fitting-in-the-context dialogue. Also Eren explodes into all his moods in one go, weirding out Levi.

A needle would've sounded pretty loud if dropped on the ground currently. Eren just turned his head to the side and stared, stared, and  _stared,_ as if willing the Corporal to gaze at him again and produce some sort of explanation by his mental powers only. Either that; or burn holes in the side of his head. 

"You see me." The brunet stated incredulously.

"Mhm." Still not even a glance.

His body was moving on it's own, the cot creaking with the weight he'd unintentionally solidified onto it. Again, the intensity of his emotion making the desk rattle when he slammed both hands on it angrily.

"Watch it." Levi growled, saving the third ink container as it teetered on the edge."Fucking drop one more and I'll shove it down your throat."

"You saw me all this time and didn't say anything?"

"If by 'all this time' you mean two days then yes."

" _Why?_ "

"Why what? Jaeger, you continue using that tone on me and I'll fucking kill your half dead body."

That didn't faze Eren one bit. He was practically committing suicide one way or another, so might as well."Excuse me for feeling fucking lonely when I was considered dead and the only person that apparently could see me didn't think of letting me _know._ Hell, maybe you're all ignoring me on purpose."

"Shut up, I swear if you don't." 

"No, why can't I-can I hug you?"

The expression Levi wore that moment was priceless. He did a double take, face blanked, threw a glance to either side before returning to regard the boy in front of him with a glint of confusion in his eyes that he was restraining."Where the  _actual fuck_ did that come from?"

"I...I just-" Eren's face morphed from that of utter rage to I'm ready-to-cry-a-river in a second, and Levi readied himself to slide back to avoid said upcoming waterfall."It got so lonely, okay? And I'm really fucking pissed at you because you were a prick and chose to ignore me but at the same time I'm so fucking glad you can see me and-"

His bottom lip quivered, and Levi waited for his eyes to comically over spill, but in the end he just wiped at them before falling to his knees, gripping the desk with both hands and setting his forehead down on it, as if tired after venting."I'm sorry for disrespecting you, Corporal."

That was the first normal thing he said that hour.

"Your frustration is understandable." He rewarded him for said previous sentence with something other than an uncommitted hum."Everything else? No."

Eren peeked up at him, and the older inwardly grumbled because was he fucking with him? How can anyone channel this much overbearing childishness-cuteness,  _whatever_ and use it against people without realizing? Levi didn't like being overpowered like that one bit.

"Why did you ignore me in the first place?" A beat, before remembering to add a "Sir."

"I was a little creeped out, thought I'd lost my shit already when I saw you floating over Ackerman at the burial." The way he casually threw that in made it sound ridiculously hilarious."So I decided if I didn't acknowledge you, then you didn't exist."

Eren blinked at him for a moment, expressionless, before trying to say politely,"I, uh, advise you to stop questioning Hanji's logic, then. Because...then you'd sort of be contradicting yourself."

"Yeah, no one asked for your insight. Anyways, since I didn't want to appear to be talking to the air in front of people, which in fact would probably had handed me my retirement depending on Erwin's mood, I played it off really well and disregarded you like Hanji at one am after a field day with Sawney. Also, how the hell did I know I wasn't just imagining you?"

"So like, your shock from my death would cause you to hallucinate and such. I understand."

"Jaeger. I said shut your fucking trap. If you don't want to listen, get the fuck out right now."

"No, sorry, I'm just... _saying_ -" A sigh."Continue, please."

"So when you started purposefully dropping my ink, which, by the way, I'll fucking show you for later, I decided that there was no other explanation to it."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to the first time, I swear! I was just so terrified that it didn't go through me and all."

"Cleaning the stables will be on you for a week once you get the shit out of your cozy nest."

Eren paused at that, eyes distantly darting over the desk for a second."You think I will?"

"Honestly, no, but who knows. Apparently your heart can beat at times- insane shit, what the loving hell- which is pretty abnormal but, I wouldn't promise anything, since what Hanji said isn't exactly confirmed."

"I don't feel any better."

"You weren't supposed to."

"Mikasa hugs me every now and then."

"I am not Mikasa."

"But I'm affection deprived."

"I cannot provide affection whatsoever."

"But Corporal-"

"Your argument is invalid. Fuck your puppy eyes, they won't do you any good."

"Okay." 

Levi sighed when Eren got up, stood behind him and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, then placed his chin on the raven's hair."What part of this wasn't supposed to happen did you not understand?"

"You don't usually make sense, Corporal."

At least Eren didn't do that weird nose snuggling into his hair thing, because  _what if he got snot into it ugh_."How long do you plan to nestle there, exactly?"

"You can go back to your paperwork."

He did, with a defeated sigh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was fun to write.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is like sarcastic for ninety percent of this chapter and gives zero fucks about anything.  
> They're so OOC I apologize.

"Levi. Levi, I have to make a confession."

The raven couldn't really make coherency of what he was hearing, because his eyes registered only the grey-midnight blue sky, stars still brightly illuminating through his window, and that he was fucking tired and whoever woke him up at this hour of the night was going to fucking pay. Someone was gripping his hand tightly; sweaty fucking hands, that's what. Instinctively, he yanked his own out of their grip and rubbed at his eyes instead.

He looked up with a mild scowl, too worn out to produce anything more severe. And simply blinked when he found Hanji pressing her knee into his mattress in order to lean in close, glasses reflecting what little illumination in the room in a terrifying manner. But Levi had stopped being taken off guard by her a long time ago.

"What the fuck are you waking me up for?" He was suddenly aware of the grip on his back, setting the thought of punishing Eren for hogging his bed again aside for a more appropriate time.

"My conscience is hurting, Levi."The brunet said in an overly dramatized tone.

"Wait, you have a conscience?" He decided that it was a little too harsh even on Hanji, and rephrased it snappily."And your conscience only decided to hurt now?"

"No, listen to me. I've kept an eye on you ever since...well, I kept an eye on you and didn't say anything when you didn't turn into a titan or stopped cleaning thrice after everyone, but...you should know."

"Fuck." Levi breathed."What the hell did you do?"

"Oh, nothing really." She grinned and took a seat on the edge of his bed. Sandwiched between a maniac and a ghost, what a pleasant position."Remember that time when you tasted the soon to be power increasing titan formula that never really become?" 

Levi scoffed."You mean when you shoved a spoon of green bird diarrhea down my throat?"

"Whatever you like. Surprisingly, a little ingredient that wasn't suppose to be in there happened, and well, that gave the formula an entirely different purpose."

Levi gasped with a blank face." _You_ made a  _mistake_?" 

"But since you didn't start rambling off German randomly or anything of the such, I assumed you were unaffected."

"It's...French." Her stupidity and three second goldfish memory never failed to leave him speechless, though.

"Levi. Do you not understand? You were at a potential risk of turning into an abnormality and all you care about is my confusion between you and Eren's ethnicity?" Well, that was a first. She was concerned.

"But I'm alright, aren't I?"

"Yes." She sighed, grabbing his cheeks and squishing them instead."You most definitely are."

Wait.

_Wait._

"S'long, chummy." She released his face and got up, strolling out of his room like nothing happened.

When her footsteps faded into nothing, he didn't even try, he just grabbed Eren by the shirt and heaved him into a sitting position. 

"Lemme go." Eren slurred sleepily, frowning and smacking Levi's hand away.

"Wake up. Right. Now." The boy 'wha'd in confusion, eyes snapping open at the commanding voice.

"Oh. Corporal. Morning." He rubbed at his eye like a child.

"I consumed bird shit and obtained the ability to see ghosts." Levi told him in a rushed tone. 

Eren's head snapped towards him and he stared with narrowed eyes and flared nostrils for a good thirty seconds."I just lost my non existent appetite."

Levi ignored his comment and continued."Actually, scratch that, I've never seen any other one than you. Just my luck."

"Hey! No one else would warm you up at night."

"I barely notice your presence until I wake up in the morning with you hogging my blanket and your ice breath on my neck, because ghosts do not produce heat, and the only reason you do come in my bed is for your own selfish wants of sleep and anyone else would so-"

"Okay." Eren screamed, but then remembered and went meek."I get it."

Levi glared at him and Eren couldn't really take him seriously with his bed hair and loose clothing.

"Let's go back to sleep."

"Gross." The raven's face twisted in distaste at the plural use of that and how weird it sounded, and he kicked Eren a good foot away from bed before hopping out himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought it was Eren at the beginning, didn't you?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren apparently dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um..angst???? What?

Eren was oddly quiet for the rest of the day. Usually, he'd disappear off somewhere when Levi headed out into town or anywhere away from their base, sometimes trying to distract the Corporal while he barked orders and made the brats work their ass off in the field. Today he just sat down with his chin in his hand beside Levi and quietly zoned off and ignored the world. He continued this way long until it was dark.

When Levi took a subtle glance at him, he realized something was completely wrong. "Five more laps, no cheating or they'll triple. I got eyes on the back of my head. I'll be gone for a minute." He informed quickly."And Ackerman, supervise and report the slack asses when I come back."

He told Eren to follow him and led him behind a good barrier of trees and the slope of a hill. Eren instantly stumbled to his bum again.

Levi thought the boy might have become a bit more translucent, and fuck, he could swear he would flicker any second."The hell is the matter with you?"

The brunet looked terribly sick as he gave Levi a nauseous look. "I'm hurting."

"Hurting? You're not suppose to feel pain."

"But it hurts, Levi. It really does. Like I want to throw up, but it's not possible because there's nothing in my stomach." He pressed a hand to his abdomen and folded himself in half, forehead propped against his knees.

Levi stood still, a little lost. He didn't know how to treat alive humans, let alone a fucking ghost. But Eren looked like he was in genuine pain, he didn't even whine bratily. It was a bad sign.

Levi's cape billowed a little as crouched down in front of the younger, remaining still for a second because what the hell was he supposed to do next? Steel grey eyes darted over the hunched figure almost in a dumb manner before he reached out with a hand. It went right through the mop of chestnut hair. "Goddamit, concentrate, I can't even touch you."

Eren raised his head. He look absolutely pitiful."I can't. I-ugh." He flinched in pain, hand flying to his chest and gripping the material of his shirt tightly.

Levi was alarmed."Eren, what is it?"

"I'm..." He pryed his eyes open, frantically searching Levi's face. He gripped Levi's wrist as if he could disappear any second."Levi, I'm dying."

* * *

The Corporal left Eren on his own bed in his headquarters despite himself, because although he wouldn't admit it, he was worried. Actually, at this point he was panicking a little. Eren had seemingly went to sleep after promising Levi it's as just sleep and that he was dead tired. Of course, the little crap has to figure out a mechanism to take his bed.

He found Hanji were he thought he would, a little more than sure that she'd barely left the mini lab she's created for Eren's body in the past few days. It's been a while seen he'd asked about his state. It seemed hopeless, and Levi didn't see the objective on working on something hopeless.

Hanji nearly jumped when he shoved the camouflaged door open and strode inside with an unreadable expression.

"Something wrong?"

She just blinked at him and straightened her glasses."How...did you know?"

The raven hesitated for only a small second that displayed his upcoming lie clearly to his best friend. "You haven't left this damn place for a long while, surely it's nothing usual."

Hanji sighed, wearing an exasperated expression as she scratched at the back of her head."I'm honestly ready to call it quits. I just...don't understand! One moment his heart will race and threaten to leap out of his chest, another it'll fade so low I can't feel it. I'm so confused,Levi. Right now he's, his heart stopped beating."

Levi stared at her with what he hoped was still a concealing expression."What about his temperature?"

She wrung her fingers together."Getting...awfully colder."

Shit. Well, that explains Eren's pain. He's dying?

Fuck, he's dying.

Levi had a habit of cracking his fingers, a habit that died down ages ago. The only time Hanji had witnessed him doing so was so long ago she barely remembered the occurrence, but it was a traumatic experience for him. Distress triggered it, only when he was absolutely numb with panic or nerves, which only happened twice in his lifetime.

She wanted to take her words back, maybe a few lies to understate it."Well he's not exactly... I mean, he's getting colder, stopped responding to chest compressions and all, even though he had a small spasm before going completely motionless ...but still he can..." She sighed, inwardly cursing her sleep deprived and jumbled mind.

She gave up when Levi's eyes drifted towards the cot behind her and his jaw clenched tightly. "Levi." Her tone went soft and sympathetic."Eren can't possibly survive this. Sure, he's proven inhuman abilities and healing powers, but he's still...nothing lasts, Levi. He was gone the moment he was detached from his titan."

No, nothing ever lasts. Except for heartache. Except for his current heartache. It was fucking ridiculous. Eren was ridiculous.

His death ridiculous.

His lost soul ridiculous. Levi describing his feelings as heartache after everything he'd gone through is ridiculous.

The fucking brat never mattered. Just a piece of shit weapon that Levi had to dispose of when the right time came, but here he was going numb with the news of his inevitable death.

"Levi..." Hanji was attempting to wrap her arms around his frame, he realized.

"Don't touch me." Levi shoved her arms away with an offended expression."Quit acting upon pity, Hanji. He's dead. He was expected to be killed by myself along time ago, you think if I wasn't capable of doing so I would've accepted?"

But I'm not. I'm _not_ capable of that anymore.

"I didn't mean-"

"I'm tired."he ran a hand through ebony locks."You need some sleep, and so do I. Don't waste your time in here tonight. Morning comes and you put that back where you found it, alright? Knowledge of other elites of this is completely unnecessary." He didn't wait for an answer, it was the only thing left to do after all. And he knew Hanji didn't have any other plans.

It was a fucking piss off to see Eren curled up on his bed when he came back into his headquarters. He didn't know why, but seeing his taunt of a ghost attached to him by the hip while he's dying somewhere in the basement drove him up the wall.

Even when the brat is fucking dead, Levi still was doomed to be dealing with his shit. Although deep down inside, he was pondering if it was just his denial of being affected by the shit's death that turned into frustration.

He was still wide awake almost an hour after settling into his cot, arm folded underneath his head as he stared at the cracks in his wall and tried ignoring the icy touch of Eren's back against his.

Fuck no. Not his insomnia again. After thinking it over, and a great deal of more denial, he realized that in those few nights Eren's dumb cuddling habits have grown on him.

this night was absolutely horrendous.

He'd been waiting for Eren to swivel around, snuggle into his hair and jostle him in his hold without even realizing it.

Hesitantly, he shimmied his body around onto his other side, pressing his forehead against a cool nape and throwing his arm around the other's waist. Maybe hooking a leg with Eren's was a little more intimate for his standards, actually just in general, but right now he was in need for some comfort, as much as he resented admitting it.

The younger moved his hand sleepily, tracing Levi's calloused fingers before settling for a weak grip around the others hand.

It was a painful night.

But sleep dissipated a small amount of it.

* * *

It was cold. And not Eren's skin cold, but a cold that seeped to his chest and through his skin. Blinking hazy eyes open to see what this was about, he found himself gazing with an empty mind at the mahogany door of his room. His finger twitched against cold material, and when he clenched his fingers he found them grasping his bedsheet.

Wait.

That didn't sound quite right. Wasn't Eren...? He bolted upright upon realizing that his bed was empty of its second occupant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling sadistic about the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing is utter shit and I'm depressed.

Eren was gone.

After Hanji told him Eren basically was dead, the empty shell of the boy, hell, maybe it was all his lonely imagination, agonized him for a night and then disappears in the morning.

If he could kill Eren again, he would so kill him without a second thought.

He didn't get out of his bed, he jumped. He didn't put on his clothes, he yanked them on. He didn't wash his face, he scrubbed it vigorously and angrily.

The stench of moss and dampness bothered him the least for once and the overall air of staleness just faded from his mind. All that mattered was yanking that door open and maybe yelling at Hanji, because she would be the only one who would understand his anger and wait on him to finish without holding anything in her heart against him.

He was surprised when even the loud screech of the door didn't make the sleeping figure slumped on the desk stir a single bit.  
He stood still for a second, staring at Hanji's knocked out face buried in her arms, glasses falling a little crooked from her ear. Her hair looked even worse if that was even humanly possible, and another beige jacket that definitely wasn't her own was draped over her shoulders.

And when his eyes drifted to the cot behind her, he blinked dumbly because it was empty.

So much fucking empty these days it wasn't fair.

"Hanji." His shove was merciless and impatient.

Her head snapped up but her eyes were still closed."Hm?" She thought she was dreaming or something.

"I told you to go bury him a little later, it's barely sunrise."

Her eyebrows knitted together and she snuggled back into her arms."I didn' bur' no one." The brunet murmured and almost instantly fell back asleep.

What?

Levi fixed his gaze on the jacket adorning her back and then at the empty cot. Someone else found out, then? Shit, if that was the case...

He snatched the jacket by the collar away from her, and due to a small twinge of guilt grabbed a sheet from the cot and threw it over her before quickly making his way out again.

What does he do? Where does he go? Fuck it all, he couldn't even keep track of what was happening anymore.

If someone really did take Eren's body away then wouldn't they return him to the burial site? No one other than Hanji would think of something as insane as keeping a corpse, especially since it seemed like a member of the Survey Corps.

Levi had no other destination other than the burial site, it seemed. He really loved dawn, and as he headed outside morning beauty momentarily struck him. He wasn't really poetic or a romanticist and shit, but the lack of people at this hour in the morning made him burst with joy. Internally anyway. Plus there wasn't anything else to be joyful about right now, so.

Fuck.

There was a person outside after all. Crossing the yard, he realized this when a small shadow of a person sitting in the grass caught his eye. Who dared interrupt his alone time and routine was going to pay.

He switched his direction from the stables to the field in front of HQ.

Now, at this point, he absolutely believed in no possible way of being surprised again after everything that's happened lately but this event may have led him close to a heart attack.

Because the more he stared at that back view, the more familiar it got. He stood a few feet away with a tilted head and concentrated expression as he scrutinized, luckily still unnoticed.

Levi, humanity's strongest and Corporal was most definitely losing his marbles.

Because that person happened to have an unmistakable mop of shitty brown hair, a boyish but lean build, missing his uniform jacket like the idiot he was out in the cold, head thrown back and neck painfully curved to stare up dumbly at the streaked sky. No Survey Corps member other than their last and sad idea of hope would be crept on like this and still not be able to notice other than one oblivious and wonder stricken Eren Jaeger. Not a translucent mirage, but a solid and legit body.

He needed someone to look at what he was looking at and tell him that it was real. Fuck if he was delirious, he'd need to retire.

The raven unconsciously released a breath he'd been holding for a while, a mixture between a sigh of relief and a tired sadness.

Of course this would catch the little shit's attention, but the cracking of twigs and scraping of boots? Leave it to Eren to miss it.

Eren craned his neck around, the shadow and light playing across his features in addition to his innocent stare of curiosity making him that much of an endearing crap.

"Uh, oh! Corporal!" He gushed, bouncing to his feet, tone as if he just remembered something that he wasn't supposed to forget. He eyed raven as he strode over with a few steps towards him."I'm sorry, I forgot to come and tell you. I just woke up and I felt so constricted in the basement that I came out here for fresh air and, uh..."

He went meek at Levi's firm expression. It wasn't for no reason, apparently, since Levi cuffed him in the head after his explanation.

"Ow, what the fu..." Eren clutched his hair with a hand and was ready to shy away from the Corporal with his stance.

"You're a fucking idiot, if you think you could come out here and walk on sunshine with no further explanation of your shitty death or life, I don't even know anymore, without telling us."

The brunet's lips twitched into a grin."You were worried, weren't you?"

Levi's eyes narrowed. "Of course not."

"Frantic?"

This time Levi didn't protest, just exhaled in tired defeat and extended his arms around Eren to envelop him with the jacket in his hands. The idiot clearly didn't realize he was cold either.

Eren tilted his head downwards while Levi was pulling at the collar, their faces nearly colliding with his motion. Levi wanted to ask him why he was suddenly so entranced with his shirt and had to stare at it at the exact moment Levi was trying to fix this damn thing on him, but did the exact opposite. He hooked a finger on either side of the jacket shoulder straps, tugged him forward and kissed him.

It was a clumsy kiss, because like he said before, Eren's stupid down staring made them collide noses and it took Levi another three seconds to actually get his mouth on Eren's.

It was also pretty casual for a first kiss, despite all the inward fireworks and feelings and shit that Levi really didn't want to talk about because it made him sound like a fourteen year old female. Casual, natural, fireworks. Who in the name of Rose would think Levi was going to associate these words with Eren one day.

Eren slid his hands from the small of Levi's back and upwards, a timid and gentle touch that turned into a secure and prompting grip on the frame of Levi's shoulders.

Levi really could say that it was in no way sexually provoking, but he wouldn't have preferred it any way else. It made sense now, the pleasant warmth. Home is where the heart is.

"Fucking hell..." Escaped his lips in a soft irksomeness, which in turn made Eren purse his own and giggle. He broke the kiss because it was totally ruined by both sides.

Eren's lips were pulled back into a grin and his eyes glinted in amusement.

"The hell are you grinning at?"

"Something tells me I know what you're thinking."

"Enlighten me."

"You're denying your sentimental side."

Levi couldn't produce anything better than a"Go fuck your self."

Eren just blinked his lashes at him rapidly before giving him another smile, this time knowing."I know a certain someone who wouldn't appreciate that."

"You're still hugging me." Levi's stated matter-of-factly, effectively averting his previous comment.

"Pfft." Eren gave him a look that questioned how serious he was."Yes, I most definitely am."

"Let me go."

Whatever, they kissed, biggest deal. That didn't mean he was going to stand here waiting like an idiot to be caught by someone.

The little shit of course just shrugged a shoulder, tightened his arms around Levi and nearly picked him off of the ground as he snuggled his face in the crook of his neck.

"Motherfucker." At that moment the rattle of a shutter was heard, and Eren lifted his head, freezing in spot.

"Oh shit."

Levi followed Eren's line of sight.

None other than Mikasa Ackerman was leaning against the window sill, face blank as she reflected the men's expressions and absorbed everything in.

"I'm...a dead man." The brunet whispered meekly.

"Sure as hell are. Your sister must be traumatized. Her dead brother is alive in the arms of the man she hates the most." Levi huffed."I'll show you, fucking jaeger."

Mikasa disappeared back into the room silently with no reaction yet. She was probably still in a stupor.

"We have a lot of explaining to do." Eren murmured in a sense of finality.

"You do, anyway."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied about being sadistic.
> 
> Thanks for reading, i love you all *chu*


End file.
